SL/R230: Which 235.7 Differential Fluid?




The Factory Approved Service Products booklet says my car should take an 85w-90 hypoid gear oil p/n 001989170310. I've called a couple MB dealers, and they tell me the correct gear oil is 001989330312. Both are specification 235.7. There aren't many specification 235.7 approved products shown in the M-B BeVo. And I'm having a very difficult time finding any of them except the M-B products in the US market. I'll pay what they want for the M-B product if I need to. But I'd really like to find the Fuchs Titan Sintopoid FE 75w-85. However, I haven't been able to find any US sources for it.
Any recommendations for a source for a 235.7 gear oil? Or am I overthinking this? Instead of searching so hard for a 235.7 approved gear oil, will a quality GL-5 extreme pressure gear oil work well?
https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/235.7_en.html
Maybe the MobiLube is available?
Second question, is there any problem using the 85-90 oil recommended in the original publication, instead of the 75-85 in this current BeVo?
Thanks.




https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/235.7_en.html
Maybe the MobiLube is available?
There are a few other hypoid gear oils out there, many from brands that have excellent reputations. But I'm hesitant to use a non-approved fluid, and probably would have paid the price for the MB branded gear oil before I used one of the non-approved.
Second question, is there any problem using the 85-90 oil recommended in the original publication, instead of the 75-85 in this current BeVo?
Thanks.
I've decided that using a lube that is approved to the 235.7 is more important than the slightly lower viscosity. If I were tracking the car, I might feel differently, but I'm confident that the Fuchs Titan product is more than capable of protecting my hypoid diff during an occasional spirited highway driving.
There are a few other hypoid gear oils out there, many from brands that have excellent reputations. But I'm hesitant to use a non-approved fluid, and probably would have paid the price for the MB branded gear oil before I used one of the non-approved.
That's where it gets real confusing. The MB booklet that came with my car calls for "MB Hpoid Gear Oil (85W-90)³", with the footnote reading "Meets sheet 235.7 specification." But when I check in the MB BeVo website, which Rodney references, no 85W-90 is listed under 235.7. Rather, all the approved 235.7 gear oils are 75W-85. (Excepting the MB 001 989 83 03, for which I can't find anything, but when I do a search for it, all the alternative gear oils that come up are 75W-85.)
I've decided that using a lube that is approved to the 235.7 is more important than the slightly lower viscosity. If I were tracking the car, I might feel differently, but I'm confident that the Fuchs Titan product is more than capable of protecting my hypoid diff during an occasional spirited highway driving.
As mentioned above - Its confusing as the 2004 owners manual shows the rear diff fluid spec was 85w-90, but the current spec on MB BeVo (updated Dec 2020) has changed to 75W-85 as meeting the 235.7 specification.
Owners Manual: https://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/Digital..._sl5565amg.pdf
MB 235.7 Spec: https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/235.7_en.html
Of the 5 currently approved 235.7 rear diff fluids listed on the BeVo site this one "Fuchs Titan Sintopoid FE 75W-85" can be found on Amazon which is what i bought and will be using.
As another slightly cheaper option is Red-Lines 75W-85 diff oil as one reviewer indicated the back of the bottle specifically states it meets 235.7 spec although its not listed by MB on BeVo (am sure it works fine)
From an Owner's Manual perspective, Fuchs 75W-85 (which is probably what the OE MB bottle is filled with) was listed as compatible with non-030 SL63s only.
Every other R230 without a mechanical LSD called for 85W-90. That said, Bevo supersedes the Owner's Manual.
I went with OE MB 75W-85 for peace of mind, but would not have hesitated to run the Fuchs or Redline versions of that fluid had they been available at the time of changing it.
Trending Topics
I have an 05 E320 CDi. I'd prefer to use the 85w90 lube for the differential, but I can't seem to find any full synthetic 85w90 anywhere! There are several manufacturers that make a conventional 85w90 with the MB 235.0 spec. Does anyone know of a vendor that may carry this in a full synthetic?
Or is it ok to use a non-synthetic? For example here is a Liqui-moly 85w90 which is conventional with the MB 235.0 spec. https://products.liqui-moly.com/hypo...-85w-90-1.html
Is it ok to use a 235.0 spec if our cars call for a 235.7 spec?
Or is it ok to use a full synthetic 75W-85 which meets the 235.7 specification even though the original MB recommended lube for my car was an 85w90?
So confusing!
Thanks!
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
I have an 05 E320 CDi. I'd prefer to use the 85w90 lube for the differential, but I can't seem to find any full synthetic 85w90 anywhere! There are several manufacturers that make a conventional 85w90 with the MB 235.0 spec. Does anyone know of a vendor that may carry this in a full synthetic?
Or is it ok to use a non-synthetic? For example here is a Liqui-moly 85w90 which is conventional with the MB 235.0 spec. https://products.liqui-moly.com/hypo...-85w-90-1.html
Is it ok to use a 235.0 spec if our cars call for a 235.7 spec?
Or is it ok to use a full synthetic 75W-85 which meets the 235.7 specification even though the original MB recommended lube for my car was an 85w90?
So confusing!
Thanks!
You can run any of the above. Non-mechanical LSD differentials tend to be a bit more lenient with fluid options.
General information 231.0
Hypoids lumped together under "Hypoid gear oils, Sheet 235.0/.7/.8/.15/.20/.31/.61/.62"
"Service confirmation that an oil fulfills the requirements of Mercedes-Benz AG is provided by internal tests. However, the hypoid gear oils must at least correspond to the US military specification MIL-L-2105 B/C/D and must be classed GL-5 in the quality grade according to API (American Institute of Petroleum)."





